Black & White Change
by Hanabro
Summary: On a night like any other, Alice lays lost in her own mind. Out of desperation, she makes a wish on a shooting star, completely unaware of the events about to unfold. Note: Takes place during Imperishable Night timeline. Sorry for the delay! Chapter 3 is now up!
1. Moonlight Wish

I can't really say I'm unhappy.

But at the same time, I can't help but feel as if I have no substance.

Thanks to my transformation into a Magician, I now have all the time I could ever wish to have. Time enough to complete my research, test my theories, and live out life in the way I'd always wanted to.

But then again, where was the meaning in that? Was my whole purpose simply to reanimate dolls?

Certainly, I have acquaintances. More than I cared to have, honestly. And although I wouldn't consider any of them friends, there are a select few whose company I genuinely enjoy (in moderation, naturally). But what meaning could I possibly derive from these encounters?

And so, I find myself in a familiar conundrum: Debating with myself over a topic of no real importance and arriving at the conclusion that the topic has no conclusion (truthfully, my over-analytical skills are second to none). As I shuffle about my bed, my eyes drift over to the small figurine next to me. She bears a vexed look, likely a reflection of my subconscious. She was, after all, merely an extension of me.

"Don't be so worried, Shanghai," I say, gently brushing her soft hair with my fingers. "Tomorrow, I'll get things sorted out." At this, Shanghai looked a little less apprehensive, and hovered over to her spot on my workdesk.

Ah, the promise of tomorrow. Frequently I had fallen upon that excuse, and frequently it had given way to the burdens I placed upon it. I can't commit to changing things in my life when I'm not discontented with it. But at the same time, I know I can't go on like this forever.

Restless, I walk over to my bedroom window, gazing at Gensokyo's starry sky. It's in these small lapses of time that my restive mind relaxes. My eyes trace down each constellation, and for a moment I almost feel the childlike sense of wonder that's long eluded me.

"There's just something about the stars, I guess." I smile. Suddenly, something catches my eye. "Is that…?"

As I suspected, a shooting star makes its way across the sky, and I find myself reverting back to a state of youthful innocence. My eyes close, and my lips begin to move.

"I wish… I wish for something. Something that can change me, and lead me from the aggressive uninventiveness of my own life."

In short, I needed something big. Something huge.

-0-0-0-

Although, I really wish it would've waited AT LEAST a day.

It was now later on that night, and standing before me (in the spot where my now destroyed door once stood) was none other than the Black-White Magician.

"Marisa? Just when the hell did the destroying of doors become proper etiquette?"

"Yo, Alice!" she said, waving to me cheerfully (and completely unaware of what my previous statement, I assumed) "There's a lot of stuff going on out here, ze!"

"And there's going to be a lot less of you if you don't leave this instant!" My previous interactions with Marisa had been less than ideal. We'd probably exchanged more danmaku than words, and our limited conversations were mostly magic-related. Needless to say, she was not a person for whom I would excuse destroying my property. Without so much as a wasted thought, my dolls rush to my side, each bearing a small weapon and stuffed to the brim with gunpowder.

"Whoa, whoa!" yelled Marisa, backing away nervously. Her sheepish smile was all too telling of her general apathy. (Or perhaps stupidity. I wasn't really sure) "I don't know what you're so mad about, but we've got something big on our hands!"

'Yes, we do. It's a pest on my porch!' I sent a doll at the witch, who dodged it almost nonchalantly. Much to my surprise, she was still smiling when the doll exploded behind her.

"Look!" she exclaimed, thrusting her broomstick at the moon. "That's the big thing I'm trying to tell you about!"

Annoyed, I looked in the direction Marisa pointed. My annoyance quickly turned to rage when I noticed the object she referred to. "You woke me up, destroyed my door, and bothered me in the middle of the night just because the moon was full?" I pulled the doll's mental strings, and 3 of my creations charged forward with the intent to kill.

Then, it hit me.

I glanced back at the moon, my eyes widening with realization. 'A full moon? There aren't any full moons during this season…'

"Figure it out, ze?"

I look back over to Marisa, who now had a more serious complexion. "I guess ya noticed it, too. We've got a full moon when we aren't supposed to have one."

I drop my dolls to the ground before sending them indoors. I call Shanghai to my side and look back to Marisa. "Is this… An incident?"

She shrugged. "Well, that miko isn't home, so I'm guessin' it probably is." I turn back to the moon, analyzing it closely. Though very similar in appearance, I identified that it was not the same moon which had previously occupied the night. "And it ain't just a different moon, either. Check the time, Alice."

A doll swiftly brings me a watch. "It's 10:30. P.M., obviously." Marisa gestured toward the moon again. This time, the dots quickly connect. 'The moon… It's in the wrong place!'

Despite the fact that the moon should've been roughly a quarter through its orbit, it was now exactly halfway through. "I've been watching it, ze." Marisa's voice turns my head back to her. "It hasn't moved in over an hour."

"What do you suggest be done?" This was a huge problem. At least with the Scarlet Mist and Cherry Blossom incidents, the culprits weren't difficult to track down. But where would one go to find the cause of this? And even if the perpetrator was caught, how were they supposed to move a moon?

"Well… I figure if we just look, something'll turn up!" Marisa winked as she spoke, flashing a grin that invoked an alien feeling within me. Pushing it aside, I returned to pointing out Marisa's terribly flawed attack plan.

"Marisa, that's the most asinine scheme I've ever heard. Honestly, for as brilliant as you are with magic, it translates poorly to-"

Wait.

Wait.

What?

"Did you say… We?" Marisa, visibly affected by the disgust in my tone, smiled sheepishly and begin scratching her head. "Well… Yeah!"

OhnonononoNO! Marisa was NOT going to get me involved in this!

"Absolutely not. Resolving incidents is your business, not mine." I said sharply. Though I enjoyed danmaku, I'd no desire to go pursuing a mystery culprit.

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun! And you'll get to blast youkai!" she happily exclaimed, striking a triumphant pose.

"Marisa, I am a youkai," I reminded her, amazed at her supposed lack of sense. "And besides, spending a night shooting things with you isn't my idea of fun." At this, I began walking back inside, my back now turned to the Black-White witch.

"Hey now! I can't be that bad! Your doll seems to think I'm okay!"

I froze. It was just then that I noticed Shanghai was no longer by my side. I abruptly turned and saw the unthinkable: Shanghai was clutching the magician's leg, looking at me with longing eyes.

'But… Why? Do I… Want to go with her?'

My mind began to race again. Was this the changing event my mind had yearned for? No, it couldn't have been. Every part of me wanted nothing to do with this… happening. So why did Shanghai, the embodiment of my inner-most hidden feelings, want to embark on the quest? Furthermore, why was I rejecting the chance to do something so refreshing? Surely it wasn't due to my proposed partner. When she wasn't obliterating my home, I did somewhat enjoy speaking to her. So then… Why the reservation?

"…yo! Alice! Anyone home?"

I looked up to see Marisa's golden eyes inches away from mine. Startled, I stumbled backwards. "Er, yes. I apologize for that."

"Sheesh, people these days… They just have no manners." The last comment earned a raised eyebrow from me, which caused Marisa to laugh awkwardly and scratch the back of her head.

"So, I'll ask one more time… You in or not, ze?"

I looked down at Shanghai, who was still tightly grasping Marisa's leg. Her eyes told me that all she wanted was to go, and I couldn't help but feel that was best. It was at that moment I made my decision: I'd see this through to the end, regardless of the outcome.

"I'm in." I looked up, smiling softly. "I'll go with you, Marisa."

Marisa's smile widened, and flashed me a huge thumbs-up. "That's what I wanted to hear! I knew you'd come through!"

-0-0-0-

After some final preparations, we began soaring through the forest. It was at this moment that I deemed it best to ask a question I'd had on my mind since Marisa visited.

"Marisa, why'd you ask me to be your partner?"

Marisa suddenly slowed at my query, before turning to answer. "Well… Part of it was that you were close by. And part of it…"

Well, that made sense. We did both live in the Forest of Magic, so I can understand why she thought I'd be the quickest option.

"…and part of it was… Umm…"

This was unusual. The normally outspoken Marisa, stumbling over her words?

"Er… No other reason, I guess! Heh!" Suddenly, she sped off, making keeping up with her a difficult task.

'Hmm. That was strange. I wonder what her other reason was? And why was she acting so flustered?'

Putting that thought out of my mind, I glanced forward to see us approaching another forest. Though I could only guess at what trials, I'd face, I was sure of one thing:

It wouldn't be boring.

* * *

Hello, readers! I'm Hanabro, and this is my first officially submitted Touhou fanfic. My favorite pairing is MarisaxAlice (or Mariari, Mariali, MAlice, and what have you). I know that not a lot happened in the way of romance, but I'm trying to gradually build the characters. Any comments/criticism is more than welcome, and thanks for taking the time out of your day to read! I've got more in store, so be ready!


	2. Insect Skirmish

'Hmm… The fireflies seem awfully bright tonight… Is it just my imagination?'

Marisa and I had begun our voyage, and were currently flying through a particularly bright section of forest. The luminosity was not due to the absurdly bright false moon, but the large amount of fireflies.

'No… That's definitely not my imagination.' Surely, they were brighter than the norm. In field tests, I'd deduced that the intensity of a firefly's shine could not be traced to any specific factor (Looking back, I had discovered nothing). So why were they shining so brilliantly?

"Hey, Marisa. Do you have any idea why-"

My words were cut short when I saw Marisa's expression, which reminded me of a small child who had just seen an irresistible toy in a store window. She was gazing off into the distance, and it wasn't until I followed her eyes that I realized the object of her transfixion.

Oh, great. The moon.

"Ah, the moon sure is beautiful tonight."

I look back to the witch, an annoyed frown on my face.

"What? Are you kidding me?" Wasn't Marisa the one who wanted to stop that thing?

"It's so damn beautiful!" she said, continuing her longing gaze toward the celestial body. It quickly became clear to me that although Marisa desired to stop the replica moon, she had absolutely no sense of urgency. Or perhaps

"I envy you carefree manner," I mutter, quite cross with my new partner. "If I had absolutely anything else to do tonight, I never would've come with you." This, of course, was a lie. But there was no need for Marisa to know that.

"Hey now…" Marisa replied, finally turning away from the moon. "Don't be so taciturn, ze!"

"T-taciturn? How dare you, you black-white pest! I am not-"

For the second time in approximately 2 minutes, my sentence was interrupted. This time, it was due to a bright flash that occurred only a few feet away.

Standing (or floating, I should say) in front of us was a green-haired youkai. I assumed she was of the insect variety, as she had the wings of a firefly and a glow to match.

"Why not just relax and enjoy the moonlit night?" She smiled as she spoke, although I had the impression it wasn't supposed to be a friendly gesture. "Come on, you two…"

"I'll have you-"

"Totally enjoying it. I am, anyway."

And just like that, my statement was broken for the third time. This was getting infuriating.

"W-well, I'm enjoying myself, too!" I stammered. "At least more than you, Marisa!" Gods above, I sounded childish. But it hadn't exactly been a stress-free night, and I was apparently not allowed to speak a full sentence.

The youkai laughed, likely noting the irritation in my voice. (My partner, on the other hand, kept the same dumfounded grin) "Oh? Didn't you just say something completely different?"

Though she was technically correct, I wasn't exactly in the conceding mood. So, I decided to go into Marisa-mode and lie.

"Of course not. I'm not enjoying the moon-watching. I'm…"

"Firefly-watching, right?"

Much to my surprise, Marisa picked up on what I was planning to say. Either that, or she'd just gotten lucky. Personally, I wondered if it wasn't the second.

"Almost, but not quite." I said, shaking my head slightly. "Very perceptive of you, though..."

During our little exchange, I'd distinctly noted the growing glow of the youkai before us. At this point, she was nearly bright enough to hinder my sight.

"C'mon…" she taunted, striking a battle stance. "I'll shoot first if you don't!"

'Oh, so she wanted a Spellcard Battle?' I was all too happy to oblige, since I wasn't in the best of moods. I looked over at Marisa, who was already summoning her standard Magic Missile attack. I could tell from the grin on her face that we'd have some fun with this poor soul. I turned back to the enemy, who was now summoning bug familiars. The wind began to pick up strength, and all signs pointed to a heavy battle. Along with the bright moon, I thought it a very fitting scene for damaku.

"My name is Wriggle Nightbug!" the insect proclaimed, her familiars now glowing as brightly as she was. "I'll gladly grind you into dust, firefly watchers!"

I flash a grin, summoning Shanghai to my side and readying my mental strings. Marisa hopped onto her broom and flew to my side, wearing her trademark toothy smile.

"Actually… It's more like firefly HUNTING!"

-0-0-0-

"Ugh… Crap!"

Wriggle, who had been smashed against a tree, somehow managed to fly back towards me.

It hadn't been a very eventful fight. Both of her previous spellcards had been boring, and neither had challenged me in the slightest.

"Had enough, buggy?" Perhaps it was due to my poor attitude, but I felt especially condescending. Personally, I blame that black-white magician.

"Buggy?" Wriggle's head snapped up, a fury in her eyes I hadn't quite expected. "My name…" Her fists were shaking. At least maybe she'd put out a decent attack now.

"IS WRIGGLE!"

**HIDDEN BUG – HERMIT OF AN ENDLESS NIGHT!**

Immediately, bullets of both green and yellow took form and were rushing towards me. I was experienced enough not to panic, but the unpredictability of the bullets made stationary avoidance difficult.

'There has to be a weakness somewhere!' There always is, after all. Such is the nature of danmaku. 'Left, right, down…' Bullets graze by, but I wasn't worried. 'If I just stay observant, I'm sure that something will…'

There!

'Directly below of Wriggle is a glaring blind spot. It'll be a bit rough, but I'm certain I can make it without too much trouble.' More than anything, it speaks to the unpolished nature of a low-class youkai. I quickly rush forward, reserving my strength for the perfect moment.

"Don't want to fire? Fine! I'll just fire for you, then!" yelled Wriggle, summoning another round of bug familiars. "Take THIS!"

Suddenly, the familiars begin firing small bursts of danmaku, making my job even more difficult. I avoid the worst of the bullets by cutting sharply left, but find myself staring at a new wall of green and blue projectiles.

"Damn it! I should've realized that was a trick!" Indeed, the familiar's bullets had not been precisely aimed, and I couldn't help cursing myself for falling for such an amateurish ploy.

"What's the matter, doll-girl? Finding yourself outmatched?"

I look back up at Wriggle. She's still firing the same spellcard, meaning her energy must be low. Perfect.

"Oh, hardly," I say, a small smile working its way to my face. "By the way… Look below you."

Wriggle, shocked by my sudden rally, looked downward to see one of my precious dolls floating towards her. "What's the big deal?" she scoffs. "I don't get why you warned-"

**MAGIC SIGN - ARTFUL SACRIFICE!**

Her look turns from surprise to horror as the gunpowder inside my doll ignites. With a brilliant flash, Wriggle becomes engulfed in the explosion, as well as the surrounding danmaku. I can't help but give an arrogant snicker at my brilliance. It hadn't been easy sneaking a doll into her blind spot, especially with the error I'd made. Still, I couldn't complain about the result.

"Dang it… That's not fair…"

I look back up to see Wriggle very much intact.

"Don't you use your familiars in the same way?" I ask, a satisfied smile still on my face.

"MY familiars don't randomly blow up, you evil witch!" she replies, shaking her fists at me. The action conjured an image of a baby throwing a fit, oddly enough.

"Hey, don't get me confused with the other one. I'M a magician! She's the witch!"

Come to think of it, where was Marisa? I knew she'd flown off to direct some familiar's attacks away from me, but I hadn't seen her since…

"Grr… Enough talking, you puppet-freak!"

**FIREFLY SIGN – COMET ON EARTH! **

Upon her words, another round of blue bullets began zooming towards me. This time, however, they came to a stop before reaching me.

'A cage-style spellcard?'

Just as the bullets formed their intended shape, Wriggle began charging several larger bullets, which I assumed were meant for me. It wouldn't be convenient to move around in a restricted space, but it'd be far from difficult.

"Let's see you dodge THIS!"

Suddenly, the bullets grew even larger. Wriggle began some sort of maniacal laughter as this occurred, with the laugh occasionally reaching a pitch not dissimilar to a cicada's cry.

"Make them as big as you'd like, fool. I've got more than enough dolls to stop anything you throw at me!" Which, actually, is completely true. Because I'm able to control my dolls remotely, even the dolls back at my workshop can be…

"..ve Sign…"

Wait.

"…Master…"

Oh, screw it all.

"SPAAAAARRRRRK!"

GET OUT, NOW!

**LOVE SIGN – MASTER SPARK!**

I don't even turn to look at the massive laser behind me. I know all too well the power it holds. Instead, I busy myself with getting the hell out of the way. The fear on Wriggle's face is evident, and I'm guessing it'll probably be a week before she wakes up from this. I narrowly manage to avoid the beam, as the entire area becomes the color of Marisa's attack…

-0-0-0-

"Ha! Take that, you stupid bug!"

Marisa tossed her Hakkero and caught it her hat. She turned back to me as she put it on, smiling from ear to ear.

"But seriously, Alice…" she continued, he smile flattening somewhat. "You realize firefly-hunting is about catching them, not beating them up, right?"

"I wanted to catch it, but you went and squished it!" I retort, floating back to Marisa. Honestly, her Master Spark was completely unnecessary. We were doing just fine against Wriggle without her Magicannon.

Marisa sighed loudly before hopping back onto her broom. "Geez, this is lame… All I did was dodge!"

"Dodging includes using your strongest attack?" I rolled my eyes before flying off. There's no way Marisa could actually believe half of the crap she spat out... "Whatever. Let's keep going."

"But Alice, we have no idea where to go…" I heard her trail off, before I was eventually out of earshot.

'She's supposedly the fastest human in Gensokyo. I'm sure she'll catch up.'

* * *

Hello, readers! I'm Hanabro, and this is chapter 2 of Black & White Change. I apologize if this chapter was a little flat, but I promise more'll happen later. And don't worry, MariAri lovers; you'll get your feel-good scenes! Any comments/criticism are more than welcome, and thanks for taking the time out of your day to read! I've got more in store, so be ready!


	3. Sight and Sound

'Hmm… At night, only beasts and youkai stroll on the roads of mankind…'

Marisa and I had begun following a path when humans commonly walked. It wasn't exactly a strong lead, but it was all we could think of at the time. As expected, it was completely desolate.

'There shouldn't be a human form in sign, at least. At this rate, our journey may go smoo-'

But of course, that would have been too convenient.

"Bastard youkai! Die!"

While I had been lost in thought, a passing youkai must've piqued the interest of my partner. That unfortunate soul was now being chased about the night sky.

"Wait, waaaait!" she yelled, stopping abruptly. It was now that I got a good look at her. She was clearly a bird youkai, and had strange pink wings. She was panting rather loudly.

"Huh?"

Marisa stopped, much to my surprise. I really didn't understand her.

"Where are you going this late at night?" the youkai stammered, clearly exhausted from being chased by a far-too energetic human.

"It's my annual Youkai Extermination Month," exclaimed Marisa, flashing a wide grin. "I'll go wherever youkai live!"

Youkai… Extermination Month? What the hell was she blabbering about?!

"Wait, what?" The bird's expression turned fierce. "Are you picking a fight with me?"

Her threat fell on deaf ears. I was still reeling from Marisa's last bit of idiocy.

"Marisa's Youkai Extermination? That's hilarious." I snicker, shaking my head.

"Oh? Don't you know how awesome I am at that?" She threw her arms wide, her toothy grin shrinking to a cocky smile. "I blow away youkai and humans with Master Spark all the time!"

I couldn't help but yet out a slight "Tch." While she wasn't necessarily lying (especially about the last part), she was grossly overplaying her actions. How very Marisa-esque.

"You, human…"

I glanced back at the youkai, who was muttering something beneath her breath.

"Huh?" Well, at least Marisa seemed interested.

"Don't you have any idea who I am? I'm Mystia Lorelei! All humans fear me in the darkness!" The youkai howled, summoning several purple bullets to her side. "If I wanted, I could call enough youkai here to eradicate every human in this land!"

"…Heh. That's enough chirping, you windbag." I can't help but smirk.

Her boasting had absolutely no effect. I could tell she was a lower-level creature, regardless of her claims. I wasn't even slightly worried.

"Hahaha… Looks like you still don't get who I am." It appeared that Marisa also sensed the danger was minimal. Or perhaps she was just too arrogant to care.

Hmm… Giving Marisa a hard time might prove to be fun.

"Human?" I question, countering Marisa's bragging.

"Human." replied Mystia. I guess she wasn't too angry to join in on the fun.

"Human all the way."

"Uh…" Marisa scratched her head sheepishly. "right…" She shot me a glare, leading me to shrug my shoulders. She was the one who thought grandstanding was fun.

"See? Starting tonight, you two…"

The pink-haired youkai began floating upwards, more bullets surrounding her. I quickly called my dolls to my side and assumed a defensive formation. I looked to Marisa, who was already building an astral sign of some sort in her hands.

"…Will never again see in the dark!"

-0-0-0-

**DEADLY TOXIN – VENEMOUS MOTH'S DARK DANCE!**

A bullet whizzed by, narrowly missing my head. To a layperson, my dodge must've seemed impossible. But anyone skilled in danmaku would know that such a feat was a routine maneuver.

Each of us had fired a few minor opening attacks, but very little had resulted. Then, Mystia quickly took the offensive and fired a barrage of red bullets. The attack wasn't particularly threatening, and dodging felt more like a waltz than anything else. I continued holding back, more interested in the attack's pattern that defeating its source.

'Overpowering the enemy simply isn't fun,' I thought, casually avoiding another bullet. 'Why use more power than necessary to win?'

Mystia must've realized my intent, because she began intensifying her attack. I dove downwards to avoid the worst of it, but still found myself having to make sharp cuts to evade the projectiles.

Suddenly, bright bird-shaped lights emerged from Mystia and flew in all directions. They adjusted their flight paths towards Marisa, who fired a narrow laser at them.

"Boom! Take that, youkai!"she yelled, throwing a fist in the air. The birds exploded in a flash of color, leaving behind nothing. "What's that? I can't hear your boasting, ze! Ha!" I brought my palm to my forehead and shook my head. If only Marisa's brain worked as quickly as her mouth.

"Can't hear, huh?" retaliated Mystia, her mouth forming a maniacal smile. "Well, it's funny you should mention that…" She reared her head back and began taking in air.

'What's she planning now?'

**VOCAL SIGN – HOWL OF THE HORNED OWL!**

Saying that the following shriek was loud would have been Gensokyo's biggest understatement.

Mystia's voice pierced my ears, and it felt as though it was digging into my very soul. I forced my eyes open to see hundreds of bullets resembling winged-insects diving towards us. However, their pattern was simple and dodging them wouldn't be difficult. All I would need to do is fly a few feet left…

'W-what? My body…!'

I can't move! Something's hindering my movements! I look up at Mystia, who hadn't ceased screaming in the slightest.

'…Her noise!'

Of course! I'd read that certain youkai possessed the ability to hinder both judgment and music with their voices. But to run into one so early…

'Tch. Marisa's awful luck is rubbing off on me.'

I attempted to cover my ears, but found that I couldn't move my arms. As a last-ditch effort, I attempted to move one of my dolls. Much to my surprise, I was able to control the doll with almost no hindrance. And if I could control my dolls…

**MAGIC SIGN – ARTFUL SACRIFICE!**

My doll's explosion cleared out most of the bullets, leaving me completely unscathed. My eyes shift to Marisa, who was crumpled up on the ground. It wouldn't surprise me if the song was even more potent to humans than to youkai. And since she didn't have a magical familiar to control, she wouldn't be much help.

The next round of bullets came in a manner even fiercer than the first. The sheer amount of danamku made it impossible for me to direct my dolls close enough to Mystia, and a doll being struck resulted in premature detonation. With no signs of the bird youkai letting up on her assault, the battle had reached a standstill. I could continue to defend myself and Marisa, but manipulating the dolls was a taxing effort, especially in my current condition. It would only be a matter of time before I ran out of magical energy. I close my eyes.

'Damn it… Of all the-'

**THWAK!**

Suddenly, the screaming stopped.

I looked up to see Mystia frozen in place, a pained expression on her face. At first, I was puzzled. Then, I saw what had stalled her attack.

Marisa's broom had found its way to the back of her head. And based on the sound I'd just heard, it had found it at a fast pace.

"I may not have dolls…"

I turned to see Marisa walking towards me, dusting off her witch's outfit. The broom flew back to its master, who casually held it on her shoulder.

"…but that doesn't mean I don't have a trick or two." She flashed her trademark grin.

I see. So she can remotely control her broom in the same way I control my dolls.

"What happened to your approach, Ms. Power Only? I thought strategy was for the weak?" I tease, flashing a mischievous grin.

"Hey, that wasn't strategy! That's making the most of-"

BOOM!

A large purple sphere crashed into the ground near us, interrupting our mid-battle chat.

"Grr! You two!"

Mystia, now recovered from her battle with a cleaning utensil, was visibly angered.

"Why not just stop, birdbrain? You're 0 for 2, ze!" Marisa exclaimed. She held out two fingers to remind Mystia of her futility.

"That's okay…" The youkai began charging up another attack. "…because it takes 3 strikes before I'm out!"

I looked to Marisa, who simply shrugged her shoulders.

**NIGHT BLINDNESS – SONG OF THE NIGHT SPARROW!**

"What's she doing now?"

Suddenly, Mystia became hidden in a veil of darkness. It gradually grew, until the only remaining light was a small area around Marisa and myself.

"Damnit! Where'd you go, windbag?!" yelled Marisa, firing a small laser into the black. The beam created a small line of visibility, but it was far too small to be of any use.

"What's the matter, human? Are the shadows too much?" Mystia taunted from somewhere in the void. I tried to trace her voice, but the darkness made the task nearly impossible.

"Alice!" Marisa turned to me. "Can't you figure out where she's at based her chirps?!"

I shook my head. "This blasted darkness is dissipating the sound. I can't even tell which direction to shoot."

"Isn't it wonderful?!" a voice called out. "And it gets even better!"

Danmaku began flying past us, although we couldn't see them.

I turned in time to see a barrage of purple bullets emerging from the darkness. I threw myself out of the way, but one of the bullets made contact with my right arm, causing me a great deal of pain. It didn't help when I landed on it.

"Yo! You okay?"

I looked up to see Marisa, who was currently hiding behind a ward spell she'd cast. Damn, I should've thought of that.

"Ugh… Yeah, I'm fine. She got my arm, though." I gestured to my injury. "I'll need a minute to recover."

Marisa started to speak, but was interrupted when a large bullet collided with her ward. She managed to remain standing, though the strain was evident from her expression.

"We can't exactly last that long! You know these spells suck!" she yelled, pouring more energy into her defense. "Got any ideas, ze?!"

I began to think of a possible attack strategy. It was impossible to decipher Mystia's location, and there was hardly time to prepare an attack strong enough to counter her danmaku. A bullet whizzed by, reminding me that I probably needed to stay mobile. The darkness made it difficult to know where the attack was coming from, and the necessary action time was absurd. It took all my focus just to avoid being hit.

"Bah! Screw this!"

I glanced over at Marisa, who had dropped her ward spell. She appeared to be muttering the incantation for some attack, though I wasn't sure which. Regardless, she wasn't moving, which was the quickest way to get shot.

"Marisa, you idiot! Get down!" Was she trying to get herself killed?

Without warning, a blinding light suddenly emerged from her hands, illuminating the darkness around us. (But, conveniently enough, still hindering my sight) I couldn't quite make out her actions, but it looked as if she was thrusting her arms to the sides.

"Forget strategy! Danmaku is power!"

**LIGHT BLAST – SHOOT THE MOON!**

The light which had previously engulfed Marisa quickly shot out around her, leaving small pools of light on the ground. In unnecessarily spectacular fashion, multiple beams blasted out of the pools, cutting through the darkness and dissolving Mystia's danmaku. The area quickly became clear, and we saw our foe floating in the air.

"Umm…" She bore the expression of a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"All that, and I still missed her?!" yelled Marisa, stomping the ground as she went about. It was true that she had missed, but…

**SHANGHAI - SPECTRUM MYSTERY!**

-0-0-0-

Once she was visible, Mystia had made an easy target for my attack. As an added bonus, it only took one shot to down her. As we searched for her body, a dog jumped out of a bush and flashed me a thumbs-up. I wasn't really sure why.

"Is she out cold, ze?"

I placed my hand on Mystia's neck to verify that she was still alive. Though it was faint, I could still detect a pulse. Satisfied with her vitality, I slapped her 3 times, as was standard when checking consciousness. I also slapped her a fourth time, just because.

"I think so. She shouldn't be bothering us any more tonight, at least."

Marisa put her arms behind her head and sighed contently. "Ah… That's better. At least the darkness isn't bothering me now!"

This was true. However, it was also true that we'd wasted valuable time and energy on a mostly worthless youkai.

"Damn it, we've got to hurry! We don't have time to waste on such small fry!" I stood up and placed my hand on my forehead before focusing intently on my surroundings. During my research, I'd developed a sort of mental compass which could direct me to powerful energy sources. It was mostly useless since I rarely needed it, but it was useful in certain situations. I carefully analyzed my surroundings, searching for any potential sources.

Whoa.

My eyes shot open. Now THAT was energy. I began walking in the direction of the power, nearly forgetting my black-white partner.

"But why are you heading that way?" she asked, drawing me back to reality. "There's no enemies in that direction."

I tended to agree with her, but a quick double-take confirmed my suspicions. See, with incidents in Gensokyo, the problems were usually caused by those with the most power. Therefore, search for the most power and you'll likely find your culprit. It was simple logic, but was also surprisingly effective.

"But I sense powerful energy ahead…" I was aware that it was the direction of the human village, but that energy was no mirage. Who their held that much power?

"Nah. There's only humans that way. Totally innocent." She smiled. "Like me."

I wasn't sure if the last bit was a joke, but I laughed at it, leaving Marisa visibly hurt. If there was anything she wasn't, it was innocent.

* * *

Hello, readers! I'm Hanabro, and this is chapter 3 of Black & White Change. First off, I apologize for the long wait. I've been moving/adjusting into my freshmen year of college, and this story kinda got pushed to the back burner. Again, I apologize if this chapter was a little flat. There will be MariAli romance scenes, as this is a romantic story. However, the pair isn't quite ready yet. Any comments/criticism are more than welcome, and thanks for taking the time out of your day to read! I've got more in store, so be ready!

P.S. - I've had a couple questions about this, so I figure I may as well answer it; I'm trying to keep the pre/post battle conversations as close to the text from the actual game as possible. I apologize if you find it boring, but I feel as if it's the way it should be done.


End file.
